Las Vegas Review Journal: Prosecutors say No. 2 player in HOA scheme deserves no prison time (because of his crucial cooperation)They still want Priola to pay a share of $12.2 million in restitution

By Jeff German
November 11, 2015

Federal prosecutors say the No. 2 player in the massive scheme to take over and defraud homeowners associations should be kept out of prison because of his crucial cooperation.

Ralph Priola, 48, the right-hand man to the scheme’s mastermind, former construction company boss Leon Benzer, could face nearly 22 years behind bars next week under federal sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors say in newly filed court papers he deserves no prison time.

“Defendant Priola was important in untangling the web of criminal conduct that was perpetrated by those involved in the Las Vegas HOA takeover conspiracy,” Justice Department lawyers Thomas Hall and Alison Anderson wrote.

Priola was the first of more than 40 defendants to cooperate in the long-running investigation regarded as the largest public corruption case ever in Southern Nevada, and his assistance led many of the others to strike deals with the government, the prosecutors said. Read more: